Secrets / Black & White / Playing for Keeps

Lara’s eyes fluttered open the next morning and she froze until the reason why she was there came flooding back.

The sheets had somehow become a tangled mess during the night, and she looked to see Harry still sleeping, one arm slung over her, his legs tangled with hers. She took the moment to study him, safe in the knowledge that he wouldn’t know.

He snored lightly, a peaceful look on his face. His lips were pouted slightly, and she resisted the urge to trace her fingers over them. The same went for his tattoos. She lay there for minutes looking at them, trying to decipher their meanings.

Harry shifted slightly, moving even closer to her, and she felt him go hard as he pressed against her. Feeling mildly surprised she tried to figure out if he was asleep or awake. From the sound of his deep breathing, he was asleep, so she kept still as she gazed at him. It didn’t take long for her to see a small smile playing on his lips. He opened his eyes and snickered when she pretended to close her eyes feigning sleep.

“Are you watching me again?” He asked.

“No, I’ve been trying to untangle myself from you for the past hour.” She lied.

“Really now.” He said as though he didn’t believe a word. She watched him stretch his arms, and then put on a T-Shirt.

“Wanna have breakfast?”

“Shouldn’t I be leaving now?” Lara asked checking her watch. “Julian told me-“

“If they’re so desperate for a photo, then they can wait.”

Lara followed him into the kitchen where he first brewed some tea. Not long after he proceeded to pull out a frying pan.

“How do you like your eggs?” He asked.

“You mean you’re going to cook?”

“Can you see a maid anywhere?” He grinned.

She tried to hide how impressed she was as he toasted the bread, poured the orange juice and scrambled the eggs.

They were soon sitting at the small dining table eating and trying to guess what Julian’s next step would be. Lara admitted that she had stopped googling their names and had no idea what the gossip columns were saying.

“I think it’s safe to say everyone's fallen for it.” She said. “But it looks like Julian’s trying to make it look like we’re serious about each other now. Who knows what he’ll make us do next.”

They took their time eating breakfast but eventually they realised it time for her to go.

“So you’re ready for the walk of shame then?” He asked with a grin.

“Can you please stop calling it that?” She groaned.

“Sorry.” He smiled. “I was just thinking though…”

“About what?”

“I had an idea…”

“What idea?” Lara narrowed her eyes.

“What if I gave you a love bite?” He asked. ”Wouldn’t that be funny?”

“Hilarious.” Lara replied looking at him strangely.

“Can you imagine Julian’s face if he saw it?” Harry asked with a smirk.

The image of Julian exploding or at the very least making him very confused appealed to Lara. In fact, she could see the funny side of it, but she tried not to show it.

“So what do you say?” Harry asked. “It’s just for fun Lara, lighten up.”

“Nobody will notice.” Lara said, still somewhat reluctant.

“I bet they will. You don’t know our fans very well. They usually can spot things a mile away” Harry said munching on his toast. “Just picture Julian’s face. He’ll freak out. Please let me do it.”

“Okay, okay. What do I have to do?” She asked.

“Let me guess, nobody’s given you a love bite before either.”

She glared at him and he laughed.

“Can you stand up?”

Lara stood and waited for Harry. She looked at him nervously.

“Is this going to hurt?”

“You’re so cute Lara. No, I’ll try and be as gentle as I can.” He looked at her for a moment before grabbing a handful of her hair and holding it away from her neck. “You’re going to have put your hair up though, otherwise nobody will see.”

He inspected her neck for a moment and Lara waited holding her breath. He decided on a spot and stepped closer, his lips lightly grazing her neck. The breath Lara had been holding gently blew out of her mouth as she tightly clutched his T-shirt. She felt the tip of his tongue lick her softly and then he gently nibbled for a moment.

“You okay?” He paused to ask.

“Mm hm.” She said unable to speak.

Her eyes closed as the nibble turned into tiny bites, and she couldn’t help but let out a little sigh of pleasure. The pleasure turned to pain when he broke her skin, but as he sucked her neck, the pain strangely felt good.

“It’s done.” He said and she opened her eyes to realise that he was watching her with an amused look on his face. She pretended to look casual when all she wanted was the feeling to continue. She walked over to the wall mirror and peered at the mark on her neck.

“It doesn’t show that much.” She said.

“Give it a few minutes and I guarantee you it will show.” Harry smiled. “Remember to tie your hair up though.”

Breakfast was over, at least for Lara it was, and she changed into her jeans and a casual shirt, remembering to do her hair. Harry walked her to the door.

“Good luck.” He said lightly, but when he noticed the nervous look on her face his voice softened. “Just remember what I said, hold your head high and don’t worry about what they say.”

She nodded as it dawned on her that for the first time she would be photographed on her own. As she stood in the elevator she traced her finger over the raised mark on her neck and inspected it in the mirror. The doorman had already hailed her a taxi and offered to walk her through the group of photographers that lined the street outside. She took a deep breath and tried to do what Harry had told her.

“How’s Harry?” A photographer called.

“How was last night?” Another said in a teasing voice.

“Looks like you enjoyed it.” She heard a few of them laugh, and she tried not to show how mortified she felt.

Lara wondered if that was just a random remark or whether they could see the love bite. Her neck suddenly felt exposed and she imagined that everyone could see the now bright red love bite. She quickly sat in the taxi and touched the slightly aching mark again as she was driven home.

Harry was right of course.

The next day Lara tentatively googled ‘Harry Styles girlfriend’ and waited for the results.

Love Bites Harry Styles

We were the first to break the news to you about the identity of Harry Style’s latest squeeze and now we’re the first to show you just how close the two have become.

University student Lara Ballantyne has been dating Harry for three months and it looks like they have taken their relationship to the next level. Lara was seen arriving at Harry’s apartment and did not leave until the next morning, sporting a very obvious love bite. Looks like this couple are officially in love!

The accompanying photo showed Lara being led through the crowd; She hadn’t realised she had a small smile on her face that morning. To further her embarrassment there was a close up shot of her neck showing a red mark. It wasn’t too obvious, at least not in the photo but the article had pretty much stated what it was.

Article after article, the story seemed to take on a life of its own and she wondered if One Direction were well known in Cambodia, nervously thinking about her parents.

But the real fear was facing Julian and she realised it was going to be a bit scarier than she originally thought.

It had seemed like a funny idea at the time, but now it was proving to be a source of embarrassment for her. And as for facing One Direction… she wasn’t looking forward to that one bit.

Notes

Harry and his ideas, huh?

What do you think about them?